


E Names

by reeby10



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Teenage Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, The Kissing Bridge (IT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29012292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: About halfway along there was one that Eddie recognized before he even really took in the whole carving. That R was Richie through and through; Eddie had seen his handwriting so much that there was no way he’d not recognize it.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	E Names

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scorpiod](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorpiod/gifts).



Eddie didn’t pass the kissing bridge very often. He didn’t have much reason to go that way most of the time, so it was easy to forget it was even there. Today, though, he was wandering alone, not wanting to go home even though everyone else was too busy to do anything, and he found himself by the kissing bridge.

No one else was around, so Eddie decided to just hang around and see what all was carved into the wood there. It was as good as anything else to keep his attention for a while and distract him from how mad his mom would be when he did finally go home.

A lot of the carvings were old, so old that he could barely read what they said. Eddie let his fingers trace over the carved letters, just above the surface so he wouldn’t have to touch it. Who knew what kind of germs there were on there, soaked in by generations of Derry residents carving their love into the porous wood.

He paid more attention to the newer carvings, wondering if he could tell who put them there. This one he thought might have been Greta Keene, based on the unique G. That one he thought might be Patrick Hockstetter, the letters carved deep like he’d been angry when he did it.

About halfway along there was one that Eddie recognized before he even really took in the whole carving. That R was Richie through and through; Eddie had seen his handwriting so much that there was no way he’d not recognize it.

Eddie’s gut clenched a little at the realization that Richie had a crush on someone. Why hadn’t Richie told them? Why hadn’t Richie told _him_?

And then he saw what the other initial was. E. It was an E. His heart soared for a moment before he stomped viciously down on the hope. He couldn’t just assume about who the E was. He had to think it through, consider other options for who it could be.

It probably wasn’t for him anyway.

Eddie stared hard at the carving, jaw clenched with determination as he mentally went over everyone he knew whose name started with an E.

Elinore, the old lady who volunteered at the library on Saturdays. No.

Erin, the six year old who lived down the block from Bill. Ew, no.

Edgar, Richie’s cousin who came to visit last year. Definitely no.

And… well, those were the only E names Eddie could think of in the whole of Derry somehow. Except his own, of course. But it couldn’t be his name. It couldn’t be him. Richie didn’t have a crush on him. Right?

Eddie traced over the carving, his finger just brushing the surface of the wood. There were no thoughts of germs or splinters in his mind like there usually would be. Just the thought that maybe _he_ was E. Maybe Richie had a crush on _him_.

Fear coursed through him as strongly as excitement. He’d known he liked Richie for a while now, but he’d tried not to think about it. If he didn’t think about it, the feelings didn’t exist. But now that the idea of Richie liking him back had wormed its way into his mind? It was all that he could think about.

And he didn’t know what to do about it. His heart said go find Richie, but his gut said forget about it, push it down until it's practically disappeared.

The voice inside his head — the one that sounded a little like Richie if he was being honest, though he would die before telling anyone that — said to be brave. Take a chance.

 _You’re braver than you think_ , the voice said.

“I’m braver than I think,” Eddie repeated, tracing the carving again. He paused on the E and took a deep breath. Yeah, he was doing this.

Somehow he made it to the Tozier residence without losing his nerve. He knocked on the door, feeling himself practically vibrating with suppressed excitement. The nervousness was there too, but it was lower, and he pushed it down as far as he could. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he was wrong.

“Why hello, Eddie,” Mrs. Tozier greeted when she opened the door. She smiled, and Eddie could see the reflection of Richie’s smile there. “Richie’s upstairs doing homework if you want to go up. Just don’t distract him too much.”

“Sure, Mrs. Tozier.”

Eddie headed up the stairs at practically a dash, flinging Richie’s door open and stepping inside without stopping to knock. Richie’s head jerked up from where he’d been bent over his desk, probably doodling on the edges of the English essay he was supposed to be writing.

“Eds?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed. “What’re you doing here? Mom’s not going to let me leave until I finish this.”

“I know,” Eddie replied, closing the door and stepping forward. “I just needed to ask you something.”

Richie sat up a little straighter, obviously seeing something in Eddie. He looked nervous for some reason, which Eddie didn’t understand. There was no way he knew what Eddie was going to ask.

“Uh, sure, Eds, ask away,” Richie said, even though he looked like he wanted anything but that.

Eddie took another couple of steps until he stood directly in front of Richie, making the other boy turn his head up to look at him. “Am I E?”

For a moment Eddie thought Richie might not understand, but then Richie’s face went white and he pushed back as far as he could in his chair, like he was trying to get away. It made Eddie want to reach out and reassure him, but he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. And, to be honest, he wasn’t exactly thrilled by the reaction his question had gotten.

“Richie,” he said, quieter but more intense this time, “am I E?”

“Yes.”

It came out like a whisper, and Richie closed his eyes immediately after, face screwed up like he was preparing himself to be hit. Eddie’s heart broke just a little, and he gave in to the urge to reach out. He flicked Richie’s ear hard with his nail, then took Richie’s chin in his hand.

Richie opened his eyes, slightly damp with unshed tears, his mouth popping into a little oh of surprise. Eddie grinned, pleased with himself. Sometimes Richie just needed a little shock out of his strange moods.

“Does that mean you have a crush on me?” Eddie asked, wanting to be completely sure before he did anything else.

Eddie could see the way Richie swallowed, hard. “Yeah.”

Eddie grinned, feeling the nerves finally melt away and the excitement come rushing to the front. “Good,” he said, and leaned in to kiss Richie right on the mouth.

Richie made a sound like he’d been punched in the gut and he reached up to pull Eddie down, closer to him. Eddie went easily, and before he knew it, he was straddling Richie on his chair, the homework Richie had been working on before knocked to the floor in their rush.

There was a knock on the door and Richie’s mom called, “There’s a snack downstairs when you want it, boys.”

They sprang apart in surprise and Eddie accidentally slid off of Richie’s lap, falling to the ground with a thump. They looked at each other, wide eyed, for a long moment before bursting into slightly hysterical laughter. It only took a minute of that before Richie slid off his chair too, laughing so hard he couldn’t keep himself upright.

Finally the laughter tapered down until they were both lying on the ground, pressed shoulder to shoulder as they stared up at the ceiling. They stayed that for a little while, quieter than they usually would be together. Eddie could feel when Richie started overthinking it.

“Hey,” he whispered, letting his arm slide over the last few inches until he could take Richie’s hand. “Wanna be my boyfriend?”

Richie let out another hysterical giggle, his hand seeming to tighten unconsciously around Eddie’s. Eddie wanted to look over at him, see what expression was on his face, but stopped himself. He was pretty sure Richie would panic and maybe even run if Eddie looked at him right now.

“Yeah,” Richie replied after a long moment, his voice cracking just a little.

Eddie smiled to himself, squeezing Richie’s hand. This was so much more than he’d expected when he’d gone wandering down by the kissing bridge earlier in the day, but he couldn’t say he was mad. He was, in fact, very, _very_ happy.

“Cool,” he said. “Want to go see what snack your mom made, then?”


End file.
